How could Albern do this all day? Two hours stuck in the temple, trying to read these books filled with abstract concepts, was making my head hurt. It didn’t help that I hadn’t fully recovered from the ceremony the day before. Groaning, I placed my forehead on the open pages. Maybe if I laid here for a while, it would soak into my brain. 

“Tolcan!”

I sprung upright, nearly falling out of my chair. 

My sister stood across the table with her arms folded. She eyed me. “Do you know how old that book is?”

Hunched over, I peered up at her. “No.”

She pulled it toward her. “Old enough that there aren’t any other copies, and your greasy forehead isn’t helping preserve the condition.”

With a shrug, I sunk down in my seat. “Whoops,” I breathed. My eyes wandered to the window.

She grabbed my chin and turned my face back to her. “It’s not even been one day since Father scowled you for neglecting your studies. Do you want him to do it again?”

I sighed. “Not really. Being yelled at in front of the court isn’t exactly confidence building.” 

Suzette smiled as she reached for a book in the pile she had brought me earlier. “I think you’ll like this one. It deals with time.”

I flipped through some of the pages. “What am I supposed to do with this?” I raised an eyebrow.

She took it from me and turned to a section near the front. “See.” She held it up. “Bends time. I could be a great help to the farmers.”

I skimmed a couple of lines. “This is the hardest technique out of everything you brought me.” I laid my head on the table. “Father can’t even perform this kind of magic to its full extent.”

Sitting on the table, she read a few pages. “Well, the subject has to be willing. I don’t know many creatures that would willingly want to die faster,” Suzette laughed.

Not moving, I gave her a groan as a response. I didn’t want to be here. Ki might have already left and I wanted to see if we could have one more go before he abandoned me to go fishing for a month. 

“But plants are an excellent subject.” She positioned the book in front of me and hurried off. 

I sat up. My sister was so confusing. Where did all this excitement and energy come from? She returned soon after with a small pot. A green stem was poking out from the dirt. 

“It’s one of the priest’s plants, so please, try not to kill it.”

“Really, Suzette?” I rested my face against my fist. “What do you want me to do with that?”

She tapped on the book. “A simple time spell. That should be enough to impress Father when the high priest gives his next report.”

I scratched my neck while scowling at the wall. This was pointless. If plants needed to grow faster, they would have evolved to do so. 

“I’ll be back in an hour or so to see how you are doing.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Work hard, and if there’s some progress, I’ll pretend to not notice you disappear to wherever you’re so desperate to run off to.”

“Hmm…” I pulled the book closer. 

Suzette hopped off the table and walked toward the corridor. “Oh, and Tolcan.”

“Yes?” I rubbed my forehead.

“I was not impressed with the trick you pulled the other day.” She stopped by the doorway. “I’ll be coming by your room later for the real book.”

“You can go and get it now if you want. I finished reading it last night, and it’s sitting on my bed.”

Rolling her eyes, she turned to leave and threw her hands in the air. “You’ll stay up all night reading books about mythical creatures, but I can’t even get you to look at one spellbook. I’ll never understand it.” 

My sister’s footsteps faded away. I closed the book and collapsed on top of it. Turning my head to the side, I waved my hand over the plant. “Grow.”

Nothing happened. 

“Stupid thing.” I poked the one leaf and gave it a zap of magic. “Grow.”

It shriveled in on itself and turned black. My eyes grew wide. Well, that didn’t work. 

***

I peeked around the corner to where the caravan was gathered. More of the nomads than I thought were leaving on this trip to the coast. Animals could freely travel through the barrier, and some of these people depend on the fish migration to make it through the year. A dark-haired woman with a permanent scowl on her face walked out of one of the shacks. I dipped out of sight before Ki’s mother spotted me.

Ki emerged right after her. The two talked for a moment before she went back inside. Ki picked up a couple burlap sacks and carried it over to the wagon. Dispersing into the wind, I snuck up behind him and slipped my arms around his waist. He tensed at first but quickly relaxed.

I laughed in his ear. “The first time I did this, you nearly jumped out of your skin. It barely phases you now.”

“There’s only one reason why a breeze would molest me”—he glanced over his shoulder—“and that is if you’re controlling it.”

“That’s rather insulting.”

“Good.” He turned around. “I was hoping you might show up.” He glanced at the two horses hooked to the wagon. “We’re about to leave.”

I saw movement toward the house and dipped below the edge, pulling Ki down with me. His mother was on the prowl. 

He grinned. “For a prince, it’s strange that you’d be afraid of a middle-aged woman.”

“She has a tremendous arm.” I watched her walk to the neighbor’s house. 

Ki laughed.

I eyed him. “She threw a pan at my head. If I hadn’t seen it coming, I would have hit me in the face.”

“It was your own fault.” Ki stood up. “She doesn’t approve of how you treat me.” He adjusted the bags in the back and made sure they were secure.

I rested my arm along the edge of the wagon. “I treat you fine.”

“Your commitment to me is questionable at times, my prince.” He locked eyes with me for a moment before climbing into the driver’s seat.

“It’s called an open relationship.” 

“It’s called you’re afraid of choosing just one.” He shook his head. “I don’t expect anything for you, my prince. I never have, but you should understand why my mother isn’t fond of you.”

I knelt on the running board and motioned for him to come down to my level. Ki did so. I grabbed his chin and kissed him. 

“Should I start planning our wedding?”

Ki tried not to smile. “You rely too much on your charm. But you forget, my people are known for seeing through bullshit.”

I kissed him again. “Our people,” I corrected. “So, that should make me immune to your bullshit power.”

He laughed. “Perhaps that’s why I still fall for your tricks.” He pressed his lips to mine and parted them slightly. 

Clasping the back of his neck, I pulled him to me. 

“Oh no, you don’t!” yelled a woman’s voice.

I jerked back.

“You, you horrid prince, get away from my son!” Ki’s mother snatched a rock off the ground. “You will not pollute my son with your magical ways. I’ll not allow it.”

Ki smiled. “Bye, for now, my prince.”

With a groan, I snuck another kiss and hurried off into the alley. I turned the corner and heard a bang. The rock had missed me but hit a metal bucket across the street.

“And don’t you come near him again!” she stated.

I jogged down the road, shaking my head. She was a foot shorter than me, but that woman had no fear. She’d go to prison and happily be executed if it meant she kept me away from her son. Between her and my sister, I didn’t need any more women in my life.